Choose You
by lollyberry
Summary: I'd choose you in a hundred lifetimes, in a hundred worlds, in any version of reality. I'd find you and choose you. AU Oneshot collection
1. Chapter 1

EMS – Paramedic

ECG – Electrocardiogram

STEMI – ST elevated MI, also known as a heart attack

* * *

They first meet during a code. Sakura was one of the many nurses who worked at the Konoha General Emergency Department. That night she was assigned to be responsible for the resuscitation room and by luck, as she stepped in for shift change a call rang through informing them that an ambulance was 5 minutes out from the hospital with a man who had fallen unconscious, vital signs absent.

A flurry of bodies, hands, and feet prepared as quick as they could anticipating the incoming patient and in that time, Sakura noticed someone new. She knew every doctor in the department, every nurse, personal care attendant, and housekeeper; she definitely had never seen this man before. She would have remembered; his hair was a shock of silver that defied gravity.

Before she could introduce herself, he had commanded attention. His voice was slightly muffled with the surgical mask that covered his nose and mouth, but it was clear to every person that he would be the one leading the code tonight. Within minutes there was a flurry of activity as EMS rolled in relaying information, voices left and right from the nurses, overhead pages calling for a respiratory therapist and the new doctor barking orders. Clothes were shorn, IVs inserted with fluids running through, and blood work drawn.

After what seemed to be hours, the team was called to stop as their efforts were proving to be fruitless. The man was not going to live and the dreaded words left the mouth of the leading doctor, "Time of death, twenty thirty three."

Gloves were ripped off, masks stripped from faces. Sakura groaned internally, she would have to make sure the room was clean and restocked; they had most definitely made a mess with ripped packages strewn on the floor, tourniquets, and alcohol wipes.

"Hey," she called out to one of the nurses. "How are my guys doing?"

Said nurse looked up from furious writing and grinned widely while giving quick thumbs up.

Sakura gave him a quick hug, returning the smile.

"I'll make it up to you later Naruto, I promise!"

As she turned from the now open curtain, her green eyes caught a flash of silver reminding her to introduce herself later on but with how things have already started, she wasn't too sure if she was even going to be able to catch a breath.

* * *

The monitor beeped occasionally, displaying all the patients who were hooked onto the heart monitors in their room. A big yawn crept up on Sakura as she glanced over the heart lines of all the patients; she couldn't fight it anymore. It was getting close to one in the morning and only now was she able to sit down and catch up on her charting. The night had most certainly turned out to be a hectic mess.

"Like a train wreck on fire!" Naruto grumbled as he grabbed a new chart that had been deposited into the colour coded "green team" basket by a unimpressed man who simply gave the blonde a blank stare.

"Slow down will ya there Sasuke?"

"I'm sorry for doing my job so efficiently and well." He dryly shot back as he turned back towards triage but slowed down as a large coffee traveller and a box of mini donuts appeared at the nurse's station. Sakura chuckled as Sasuke backtracked and made a beeline for the goodies. This was as excited as he would get noting a slight glint in his obsidian eyes.

After pouring himself a cup of coffee ("He takes it black like his soul" snickered Naruto), Sasuke raised the steaming liquid up slightly with a nod as thank you towards the man who laid down the treats.

"Who tipped you off about us loving food?" Sakura laughed as she made herself a cup of coffee.

"I figured I should get on the good side of the nurses being new and all." Came the muffled reply. "There's also pizza in the photocopy room if you're hungry."

Stars appeared in Sakura's eyes as she looked at the man in front of the desk, she definitely liked the new doc so far. Competent during intense pressure, keeping up with the crazy patients, bringing in food, and not to mention he was pretty cute.

"You did good in there for your first night. Haruno Sakura, nice to finally introduce myself."

"Hatake Kakashi. And thanks, I didn't think my shift would start out with a bang."

Sakura chuckled, "I don't think anyone does even when you've been here as long as I have."

"Her man hanks fer he food!" Naruto grinned through a mouthful of pizza. With a swallow followed by gulps of coffee, Naruto let out a sigh of satisfaction. "Man if only all nights were like this. The name's Naruto, sorry to bug you already but I have an ECG here for ya if you could take a look."

Sakura rolled her eyes, "You're going to get grease on the chart ya goof."

Kakashi took the piece of paper lined with grids and squiggles, taking a glance.

"56 year old female, generally healthy. She has complaints of upper abdominal pain feeling like a burning sensation, starting last night. Also reports feeling generally unwell since then, flu-like symptoms. Her ECG does not look great I want move her to Sakura."

Kakashi nodded along, eyes focused on the paper in front. "Good catch Naruto, call for a code STEMI and I'll page cardio, lets get this patient moved to resus. Sorry Sakura, looks like it's going to be a long night."

Sakura shrugged and flashed a smile, "Welcome to Konoha General Doctor Hatake."

"Just call me Kakashi."


	2. Frozen

She clucked her tongue against her teeth while walking up in down the small room, pods lined up in a vertical slant side by side. Monitors connected to each one made steady continuous _beeps_ , measuring heart rate and oxygen consumption. Every so often a faint _whrrrr_ would sound as a door to the pod opened and a _wshhhh_ as whoever was inside would be released from the capsule, a flurry of bodies from the medical division then rushing over.

One by one each opened until there was all but one left. Green eyes peered into the glass window, a frown beginning to settle into her pink brows. She tapped her pen on the window impatiently and muttered "He's been asleep for over 100 years, wake up!"

Staccato clicks approached the grumbling woman, "He's the last one?"

Sakura turned her head towards her superior. "Everyone else in here has woken from their hibernation, the last one I believe was called Maito Gai."

"I'm not surprised with this one, based on his file. How are his vitals?"

"Stable for now, but we've never had one take over a week to wake."

A hand weaved through gold hair, an audible breath escaping through her nose. Her hand stopped at her pigtail and then crossed her arms across her chest.

"We don't make landing until a few weeks from now. Give him a couple more days; maybe he'll rouse then. Otherwise…"

"I'll put him through the hatch." Sakura finished quietly.

"If we have to use other measures so be it. He's here for a reason Sakura, like you and I. We are the last of our kind, thankfully we had been sheltered from Earth's final moments because of our hibernation."

Sakura eyed the man who continued to sleep. _48 hours…_ A small part of her began to grow anxious, _please wake up, please._

"Let me know if anything changes." As the blonde walked away, heels clicking faintly behind.

 _36 Hours Later_

The faint _whrrrr_ jostled Sakura from her thoughts. Her eyes tore away from the window. Despite having woken 6 months ago and seen the darkness daily since then it never ceased to amaze her, taking her breath away each time seeing the number of stars that surrounded the ship.

Scrambling to rise from her chair, her feet brought her over with a quick jog. The door to the egg shaped chamber had opened, Sakura exhaled in relief not realizing she had been holding her breath. The metal arms that held the limbs in place had yet to release but the man blearily began to open his eyes.

Mismatched eyes blinked once, then twice adjusting to the lights. The scar bisecting the right was a faintly tinged with red while the other a dark charcoal. Green eyes met contrasting ones, her mouth slightly open in an "o". There was a small lapse of silence until Sakura realized she was staring.

She could hear the _wshhhh_ as she whispered, "Hello."

His voice, unused for 120 years, hoarsely replied, "Yo."

* * *

I may want to continue this as a stand-alone however I'm awful at completing stories. Perhaps I'll make this a two-shot. Thoughts?


	3. Mistress

_The king was born from magic and faeries,_ is what whispers down the halls of the castle he resides in. The countrymen calls his mother a witch; from birth his hair was almost white, eye that held amber on the right and a deep charcoal grey on the left. A scar bisects his right eye, _from rituals when he was a babe_ came the murmurs of the courtesans. He wears cloth over the lower half of his face, _to hide a spot that marks him as the devils._

Whispers that the queen had enchanted his father did not escape his ears, even after Sakumo's death and when Kakashi ascended to the throne. Kakashi could not avoid the slander, a king could not be in his position without having hearsay spoken, except most would punish with the prosecution of treason. But he is a fair monarch and despite the gossip he feels pride and love for his people.

Mismatched eyes watch his court drink, dance and eat. They are in celebration of the good harvest the year has brought them. Trade will be successful; his people will have plenty when winter comes.

His queen sits next to him, a pre-arranged marriage with the expectation that she will provide heirs however she has born no sons or any children for that matter. She is in love with one of his trusted advisors, Obito, and has been even before their betrothal. Her fate was chosen for her because of her noble blood. Kakashi allows her and Obito to remain together if they are discreet and because he loves Obito as a brother and he cannot afford a divorce because of the peace treaty their marriage had brought.

Kakashi's gaze comes to rest on one particular woman, whom he recognizes as a lady in waiting for the queen. He has seen her often, working on embroidery or reciting poetry with the queen but also in the garden surrounded by courtiers playing dice.

 _"Who is that woman, the one who waits on you?" he asks nonchalantly one day._

 _Rin takes her gaze from the book she is reading and looks towards her husband._

 _"I have many ladies in waiting, you need to be specific as it is difficult enough to keep track." comes her reply, although Rin already knows whom he is referring to._

 _Kakashi continues to watch out the window of the sitting room, a roar of laughter erupts from where the game of dice is occurring._

 _"The one with the pink hair." he says._

 _Rin laughs, it's bright and delicate. "She's smart and knows her way around court, knows what the courtiers want and what they are like. And she is especially aware that the King is a known womanizer."_

 _A frown settles on his face as he turns his eyes to his wife who has already returned to her book._

 _"Be careful of her Kakashi. There are words amongst my ladies that she is ambitious despite her demure demeanour and she refuses every suitor as they do not suit her taste."_

She is dancing in the great hall of the castle he notices, green eyes merry as she spins and twirls in her deep burgundy dress trimmed with gold lace, a lady of high standing. Her pink hair, which had been previously held together in a hood, now tumbles down in braids. Sakura's eyes flicker towards the front of the room, heart beating rapidly in her chest from dancing but also from the pair of mismatched eyes that had been watching since the feast had begun. Quickly she lowers her eyes, long pink lashes fanning her cheekbones.

She excuses herself from her partner, his blue eyes are bright as he nods and goes back to dancing searching for someone new to take her place. She can't help but smile when Duchess Hyuuga shyly takes his hand blushing so hard Sakura was sure the girl would faint. Sakura steps into the adjacent small room, thick velvet falling behind her. She pours herself a cup of ale hoping it will slow down her beating heart and cool the flush in her cheeks.

"Are you afraid I will enchant you and from then you would not be able to escape?" a voice from behind says, deep and low.

Sakura is startled but composes herself and laughs, "It appears I may have done the enchanting Your Grace."

He does not smile, but instead continues to study her face, her eyes and lips.

"And why do you say that?"

"You have been watching for some time, I worry that others may have taken notice."

He waves his hand in the air as if dismissing her comment.

"People like to talk, I'm sure you've heard the rumours."

"One hears many words and gossip, we are in court after all," Sakura replies carefully. "Of what do you speak of your grace?"

"You know very well what I speak of, of what they like to call me. But perhaps I need to remind you."

Suddenly she realizes how close they are both standing as he lowers his lips to her ear whispering, "Witch."

Her body can't help but arch into his, eyes falling shut, the deep timbre of his voice causing her to shiver despite being warmed by the burning fire at the end of the room. His slender arm comes up behind her, a hand resting on her lower back and the other at her hip.

"Come to my rooms tonight." He murmurs, lips brushing on the delicate skin of her neck.

As if woken from a spell, Sakura presses both hands to his chest, pushing him away.

"I am sorry your grace, you have a beautiful queen who sits beside you. I cannot in good conscience do what you ask of me."

He is taken aback slightly; no one has ever denied him before. Especially when he takes interest in a woman to bed her or take as a mistress. Anger and intrigue rises in his body. Kakashi's eyes study the woman in front of him, who's hands are now gripping the front of her dress in nervousness for speaking so boldly, refusing to give into the king's request.

"Very well, you may leave."

She curtseys low at his feet, pink hair falling down one side of her neck exposing the other as her head bows down. Kakashi nods, dismissing the woman in front of him.

As Sakura walks away she turns her head slightly, eyes catching his as he watches her retreating form. She smirks.

 _"Be careful of her..."_


	4. Omens

She dreams sometimes. Mostly they're good but on occasion they wake her from sleep, a frown on her face or tears in her green eyes. Each dream that becomes real soon after feels like déjà vu when it happens. It is a curse, she thinks.

 _My love it is also a gift_ , her grandmother used to say when she was a little girl.

One night she wakes in a sweat, her hand reaches for the body next to her and her heart slows. She cannot go back to sleep, the feeling of panic rolling in her stomach. When sunlight begins to pour into the bedroom she glances at the man beside her and touches his face.

They're both in the kitchen later in the morning; she's fidgety and anxious, twisting strands of pink hair around her finger. Her partner looks up from his work and asks what is wrong. Green eyes look down at his papers and quietly she tells him her dream. He is silent and then looks back down, his pen continues to make scratches on the paper with formulas and calculations. She tells him her dreams are like premonitions and tells him to _please reconsider_. He does not stop writing.

For days and weeks she begs and pleads. _I love you_ she cries, _please don't go_. Until one night he puts down his pen and calmly tells her that he is going no matter how much she asks him not to and no matter what her dreams show her. She is silent as tears come down her face.

The day he leaves she knows he will not return. So she puts on a smile (it hurts so much to do) and gives him a fierce hug and kiss. He tells her not to worry; he will be back and then gets into the car that takes him away. She vomits once into the toilet, the nerves make her hands shake.

She sits in front of the television, alone. The glare reflects off her green eyes and then there is red and smoke and the crumbling of a ship that had been climbing into the atmosphere. Everything around her shatters, she cannot breathe. She cries. She drowns.

For a while after there are no dreams. Until one night when she sleeps she doesn't know where she is but she can feel waves of panic and her hands are gripping something at her sides. Suddenly the anxiety and fear slowly lifts as a hand covers her own and there is a voice talking and chuckling giving her warmth. She wakes, a hand reaches for the body next to her but it is cold and empty.

For months and weeks she is a shell. She is in a fog and so angry. Her eyes are dull and swollen from the tears that don't stop. But one day she wakes and her grief does not consume her like it did before and begins to heal. She still feels an overwhelming sense of breathlessness sometimes; the memories come back almost drowning her again. So she sells the home she had once shared and decides to leave, start anew.

She is sitting in a seat, already buckled in when a man smiles at her and indicates that he is her neighbour for the next few hours and would it be okay if he squeezes by. With a nod she stands letting him by, idly she wonders how strange it is for a man who looks so young to have hair so grey. Settling back in the seat she breathes in deeply and closes her eyes. A lump forms in her throat but she tries to swallow it away as the weightlessness of being airborne engulfs her. Glancing out the window she watches as the city grows smaller. The man's eyes catch her own, they are charcoal and smiling at her. She does the same with a small upturn of her lips.

A few hours later there is a jolt and a drop; it wakes her from sleep. Another bump, she lets out a small gasp. She thinks to herself _turbulence is normal_ and tries to breathe but finds it difficult. Sweat beads into her palms; panic begins to set in. Her hands grip onto the armrest on either side of her as the aircraft continues to jostle about. Green eyes squeeze shut, a wave of nausea creeps up in her stomach.

Her knuckles are white and beginning to tingle from holding on so tight. And then there is a hand that covers hers followed by a familiar voice. Her heart slows, she takes in a breath, green eyes open and she turns her head. He talks to her and chuckles, the fear that had been growing fades and instead a warmth replaces it. His hand does not leave hers even when she finally relaxes and only lets go when they both feel the wheels touch the ground.

They part ways at the gate of the airport and he tells her to take care. She tucks a piece of stray pink hair behind her ear and bites her lip, _I dreamed of you I think._

His steps falter, he stops and looks back at her with questioning eyes. Thoughts are swimming in her head with hopes that she does not sound crazy to this stranger who she swears is the one in her dream despite never having seen his face. Only feeling his presence, his warmth.

 _There are reasons why I see things so vividly when I sleep and eventually they become reality. There was a reason why I saw – no, felt your presence. I know it was you._

The man stands in front of her.

 _It is both a gift and a curse_ he murmurs, his eyes peer deeply into hers, searching as if he had seen them before.

A breath catches in her throat, _hello_.

 _Hello_ , he repeats

 _My name is Sakura._

Charcoal eyes soften,

 _I know._

She smiles.


End file.
